Home Published by Queen Games.
Designed by Wolfgang Kramer.
Translated by Bob Scherer-Hoock.
1 game instructions with
quick-start game rules
1 game board
79 expedition cards
135 arrows in three colors
75 coupons
60 game chips in six colors
1Game Goal
Each player receives a number of expedition
cards at the start of the game. These cards are research missions for certain
places in the world. The same picture is also shown on the game board at the
corresponding place.
Three independent, neutral expeditions are
taken by the players across the world map. If an expedition reaches a place that
the player has a research mission for, the card is laid aside and the player
receives one point for it. And whoever at the end has collected the most points
wins the game.
The game board is put in the middle of the
table. One recognizes the continents of our earth. Across a route network (black
lines) many different colored points are connected together.
All places to which a picture belongs on
the game board are possible research-destinations, for each player may hold
expedition cards that belong to them. The point of the destination has the same
color as the card. When an expedition reaches such a place, all players check
the research missions in their hands. The person who has a matching card may lay
it aside even if it is not their move.
The green and red stations enable special
actions for the players, as soon as an expedition reaches such a station.
Whoever leads an expedition to a green
point may immediately place another arrow at the end of any expedition.
Whoever leads an expedition to a red point
gets a trip coupon from the bank.
At the right and left game board sides
there are three stations marked with white arrows. At these locations a
connection to the opposite game board sides exists.
The stack of cards is shuffled and each
player receives: 12 cards - with 2-3 players; 9 cards - with 4-6 players.
(Translator's note: The quick-start rules supplied with Expedition say to deal
out 8 cards with 4-6 players, which means there's a misprint somewhere. The
original Wildlife Adventure rules say to deal out 8 cards to 4-6 player, so take
your pick.)
Furthermore six cards are put openly
alongside the game board. These are public research missions that may be
fulfilled by any player and earn an additional one point in the scoring at the
end of the game. Each of these public research missions must be at least three
spaces from the starting point.New cards are drawn until all six missions
fulfill this condition.
The remaining cards are again shuffled and
placed face down in a stack beside the game board.
All players look first for all their
research destinations on the game board, for which they have drawn the
corresponding cards. The picture and text on the card provide more information.
Furthermore each place on the game board has a dot in the color of the game
card. These colors have been assigned to continents so that each player may
swiftly find his goals.
Each player must classify as specially
important four of his research missions. Using the game chips in his color,
players mark the places on the game board that they particularly want to reach
during the game. If he succeeds in this, he receives one additional point for
each research destination with chips. Each chip that is not reached, however, is
minus one point at the end of the game. Furthermore one should consider that the
locations marked with chips are known by all other players!
The arrows are sorted by colors and put
beside the game board for all to reach. Each player, when his turn comes, takes
any one arrow and he places it between two points, i.e. on the black line.
All arrows of one expedition have the same
color. Each of the three expeditions goes out from the starting point and over
the course of the game form a protracted route.
A player is chosen as bank holder and
distributes to each player at the start of the game three trip coupons. Through
handing over these coupons to the bank, players can execute additional actions
during their move. At some points on the game board players can receive new
coupons from the bank. Anyhow with trip coupons one can well manage a turn.
Individual Research Missions
The cards that each player has received at
the outset are his own research missions. He should look after them and try to
see that the expeditions travel, preferably quickly, to the places for which he
possesses a card.
No matter if the expedition through his
move or that of another player reaches a location, in either case, even if it's
not his own turn, the affected mission is settled immediately and the card
placed face up before him.
The research missions of a player are on
principle secret; only when the mission is fulfilled is the card uncovered. The
lone exception is the missions that have been marked by a colored chip of the
player on the world map.
At the outset of the game all players mark
four places, for which they naturally must have a research mission, with the
chip of their color.
The most aged player begins and places a
chip. He is followed by all other players in clockwise order. This process is
repeated until all players have placed four markers.
One should consider that with the selection
of the places, by their markings, the missions are no longer secret.
Marked research destinations must be at
least 2 spaces removed from the starting space.
The public research missions are considered
to be for each player. Whoever leads an expedition to the destination of a such
mission takes the corresponding card and lays it in front of him. You get one
additional point at the end of the game.
Subsequent the public research mission
stock is replenished again to six. The card that is uncovered is valid for each
case, no matter how far it is from the starting point and even if an expedition
has already traveled to this place.
Expeditions Implemented
The expeditions are neutral. They
"belong to" no player and their color serves only for discrimination
into three separate expeditions.
Plays proceeds in clockwise order. Per game
turn, one may place one arrow. The arrows must always be put on a position
between two points.
The oldest player starts. He takes one
arrow of an any color and puts it by the starting point on one of the six
positions. But the arrowhead always points from the origin to the next station.
Then comes the next player in the chain. He
now has the choice of continuing the expedition in the same color or beginning a
new expedition with a different color.
If he starts a new expedition, he takes a
different colored arrow and puts it on a free position at the starting point.
Each new expedition starts at the starting point, and at no time is there more
than three expeditions.
Otherwise the players in their move always
have the free choice of which expedition they want to continue and which
direction they want to take. But players can always only build further at the
end of an expedition route.
Branches off are not allowed except
immediately after the construction of a bow. Also a turnabout by 180 degrees may
not be placed. Arrows of one color may never lie parallel on one position.
Different colored expeditions are allowed to be placed parallel to another
route, i.e. they may use the same position between two points.
Illustration 1: Not allowed: branches
off! (Only in the trap of tie permissible!) Not allowed: a turnabout, or a
parallel construction in the same color.
Illustration 2: Allowed: the parallel
construction among different colored expeditions.
One, by use of trip-coupons or by the
reaching of a green station-point, may place more arrows than allowed on this or
on different expedition routes.
If an expedition reaches the left or right
game board side (at the station 1, 2 or 3), the expedition may continue on the
opposite side. You must however continue from the station with the same number.
Each player tries to steer the expeditions
so that they reach the places for which he possesses research missions. If an
arrow reaches such a destination the player may reveal the corresponding card
and lay it beside them. This mission counts for one point at the end of the
game. Furthermore if he has a chip on this place, he removes it and also counts
it as one point at the end of the game.
Also if a place is reached during the game
move of another player, a player may lay aside a matching mission card and
remove a chip if one is there. One should therefore pay attention to the moves
of the other players!
If a player realizes only later that he
could have laid aside an expedition card, he may catch up on this only if the
expedition is still at this place. If the expedition is already further along,
he may no longer lay aside this card. He must try rather to guide the route of
an expedition to this place again before he can fulfill this mission.
When an expedition leads back to its own
route, i.e. a bow forms, the player then may ad another arrow to this
expedition, in fact at any point on this route. Only in this event is a second
branch allowed!
The new start for the additional arrow may
be chosen freely. But it must be a point that the expedition was already at,
i.e. a like-colored arrowhead must be present on this point. The arrowhead of
the new location is as of now the end of the route. Here the expedition
continues.
A player may form in his move, per
expedition, only one bow!
The meaning of the point at which the a bow
comes about naturally stays the same. At a green point e.g. the player may place
two more arrows - one for the establishment of the bow (an arrow of the same
color) and one for the green point (an arrow in any color).
Please note:
A bow can also form from the removal of an arrow! (See: 5. Trip coupons)
An expedition has finished if no arrows of
this color are available. In this event only the remaining expeditions can
continue.
A player may use a maximum of two trip
coupons per move to execute additional actions at the beginning or at the end of
his game turn.
The following additional actions are
possible by handing over a trip coupon:
One may place one additional arrow; or
One may remove an arrow from the end of any expedition; or
One may exchange one of his research missions.
We recommend:
Whoever uses a trip coupon uses, place it first of all on the words
"Expedition" on the game board and pays it to the bank only at the end
of his move. In this way one can see that a player hasn't used more than two
trip coupons per move.
An example of the use of trip-coupons:
An expedition is at Marib (Yemen, Asia). The next player puts an arrow to the
red point. He takes a trip-coupon from the bank and puts with his others. Now he
decides to use a trip coupon. He takes one from his stockpile and puts it on the
game board. Nest he takes an arrow (in our example, of the same expedition) and
puts this to the green station. He therefore immediately again places an arrow
and leads this expedition further to the red station. He again takes a trip
coupon from the bank. Then he immediately may use this one and he also places it
on the game board and puts one more arrow to the green point. For it he again
places an arrow and so that the expedition reaches Borobudur. He has now
altogether used two trip coupons so his move is finished. The coupons are now
given to the bank.
If a player uses a trip coupon to remove an
arrow, he leads the expedition to its last point back.
If this is a research destination, players
now have a new opportunity to lay aside the corresponding research mission, if
one has neglected this previously. If this leads the expedition back to a red or
green station, then the corresponding rules (5.1 and 5.2) apply. (Translator's
note: My copy of the rules has no sections 5.1 and 5.2, but the intent of the
rules is clearly that the player gets the benefit of the red or green dots when
an arrow is removed and the expedition in effect backtracks to one of those
positions.)
An example for the removal of an
arrow: The expedition is now in Borobudur. The
next player pays a trip coupon and takes the last arrow that leads to Borobudur
off. The expedition is now at a green station, i.e. the player may place one
additional arrow. He puts this arrow to Angkor and with his actual game move
leads the expedition along to Tschangan. Although he could use one more trip
coupon before he finishes his move.
The last option to use trip coupons is to
exchange a research mission. The player using a trip -coupon hands in one of his
research cards, puts it beneath the stack and receives instead two new cards
from the stack (provided there are still some available). He chooses one of the
cards and takes it into his hand, the other is again concealed beneath the
stack.
When a player lays aside his last
expedition card, each player, that in this round has not yet moved was, gets one
more play. Then the game has finished.
The game ceases immediately though when no
more arrows can be played.
The research missions and game chips are
settled now:
each research mission that has been completed and lies open before a player counts one point;
each individual game chip, that has been gained during the game also counts one point;
each research card still in the hand counts minus one point;
each individual chip that still is on the game board also counts minus one point.
All points are added. The winner is the
player with the most points.
All rules apply from the basic game except
for the following additions.
At the start of the game players receive
all chips of their color. Everyone may decide now to place as many game chips as
they want. Decision on where the chips are placed must agree with the basic
rules. Who there are no more chips that he wants to place, he puts the unused
chips back into the box.
Also in this variant: each gathered game
chip counts one plus point, each chip that remains on the game board at the end
counts one minus point.
Whoever forms a bow, the additional arrow
is placed only at a point of the bow and not, as in the basic game, at an any
point in the expedition.
Three points are here to note:
a) One may further place only at the point
of the last formed bow of the expedition.
(The examples in the following
illustrations demonstrate the course of the last bow. The numbers specify the
order of play).
Illustration 3: The expedition my build
further only at the points 2, 3, 9 and 10.
b) In the event that several bows of one
expedition criss-cross itself and the proper course of the last bow at first
look is not obvious, the directions of the arrows should denote the last built
bow.
Illustration 4: The expedition builds
further here across the stations 11, 12, 13 and 14, and it has closed one more
bow. If one looks at the last point of this new bow (station: 14) the course the
arrows follows becomes clear, that the new bow includes the following stations:
14, 7, 8, 3, 9, 10, 2, 11, 12, 13. From these points the expedition may now
further proceed.
c) In the event that an arrow establishes
several bows, the expedition is always considered to be in the shorter bow. And
only from this end may more be built.
Illustration 5: Here the expedition has
continued across stations 15 and 16, and it was again closed a bow. One realizes
that there are now two possibilities to determine the last bow. Go out from the
last point of the bow at station 16 to the first possible bow over the points of
16, 10, 2, 3, 9 and again to 15. The second possible bow travels across 16, 10,
2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 7, 8, 3, 9 and 15. In this event there are two possibilities,
so it is always the shorter bow that is considered.
Variant B can be added to the rules of the
basic game or the rules of Variant A. The following rules come in addition:
It is played without expedition cards.
Each player receives instead exactly eight game chips which are fixed on the board as the research destinations.
There are no public research missions.
For the course of this game the chips are
considered to be:
all one's own game chips are put at the discretion of the neighbor on the left on any research destination.
by alternating turns, each chip's location is determined by the respective player until all game chips are distributed on the game board.
The winner in this variant is the one player who first gathers all his game chips. If no one succeeds in this, then the winner is the one with the most chips. If this is a tie, then the spaces are counted to the completion of the missions still on the board. The winner then is the player who would take the fewest possible moves to reach the remaining missions. If there is a tie here too, then the game is a draw.
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